Were he one of those, President Donald Trump's pardon of the former Arizona sheriff would have been cheered and accepted rather than jeered and contested by Democrats, leftists and assorted establishment Republicans.

These were people pardoned or set free by Democrat Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. They included people like FALN terrorist Oscar Lopez Rivera, fugitive and tax cheat Marc Rich, traitor Pfc. Chelsea Manning and at least a couple of thousand drug dealers and assorted criminals.

This does not, of course, even take into consideration the hundreds of Islamic terrorists released from Gitmo by Presidents George Bush and Obama, many of whom returned to the battlefield to kill more Americans.

No. Arpaio was simply a career law enforcement official who, as sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona enforced the law dealing with illegal immigration, mainly arresting and detaining migrants crossing the border from Mexico, many of whom were criminals.

This was contrary to Obama's feckless, loose border policy that saw hundreds of thousands of immigrants illegally enter the United States to seek some sort of amnesty. In one way or another they usually got it.

Obama, who politicized the U.S. Justice Department, just as he politicized everything else, had Attorney General Eric Holder go after Arpaio for enforcing the country's immigration laws that Obama refused to honor.

Advertisement

Obama's holdover appointees in the Justice department sought to either defeat Arpaio at the polls or put him prison--or both. They got him defeated in the last election. But thanks to Trump they will not see him go to jail.

Arpaio was found guilty by U.S. District Court judge of refusing to stop traffic patrols that allegedly targeted immigrants suspected of being in the U. S. illegally. He faced up to six months in jail on charges brought before the court by the Justice Department two weeks before the last election, which contributed to Arpaio's defeat.

Arpaio may or may not have profiled and targeted immigrants crossing from Mexico, as his critics charged. But he was certainly profiled and targeted by Obama's Justice Department.

In ordinary times, an organization like the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed suit against Arpaio, might have come to Arpaio's defense. He, after all, could claim he was profiled, singled out, targeted and victimized by Obama and Holder.

But these are not ordinary times. The ACLU, you may have noticed, has turned into the MCLU (Mexican Civil Liberties Union) when it comes to issues of illegal immigration and racism.

Arpaio was frequently accused of being a racist by some Mexican immigrants, progressives and other left-wing critics during his 24 years as sheriff. It is a charge, tired as it is, that progressives freely throw around these days when they have nothing of substance to say.

Yet at the same time, Arpaio in office had the highest percentage of Hispanic deputies, detention officers and staff in the state. He also promoted more Hispanic officers to command positions than any other Arizona enforcement agency. In addition, Arpaio has two grandchildren who are of Hispanic descent.

I will bet it is safe to say that Arpaio, who saw it as his duty to enforce immigration laws, would have arrested and detained Swedes illegally crossing the border into the United States.

Arpaio served as sheriff of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, for 24 years, so he must have been doing something right. He was the longest serving sheriff in the country before he was defeated. Before that Arpaio, a native of Springfield, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

After his military service, Arpaio became a police officer first in Washington, D.C., and then in Las Vegas. He later joined the Drug Enforcement Agency where he worked for 25 years, stationed in Argentina, Turkey and Mexico.

There is no doubt that Trump has admired Arpaio for a long time, even mentioning him during his speech at the Republican National Convention in July 2016.

Arpaio, meanwhile, has supported Trump from the beginning of Trump's extraordinary rise to the presidency.

Upon pardoning him, President Trump called Arpaio a "patriot," who had been treated "unfairly" by Obama.

What will Arpaio do now?

There is talk, unrealistic as it may be -- Arpaio is 85 years old, by the way -- that he might run against GOP incumbent Sen. Jeff Flake, who is not a Trump favorite, in 2018.

If he does, I have a suggestion for a campaign slogan. It is: "Arpaio: I am not a Flake."

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.